Elder AI Companionship in China’s Rapidly Aging Society: Preliminary Results from a Scoping Review of AI Usage, Needs, Emotions and Care Implications

Ageing populations face acute risks of loneliness and social isolation, and in rapidly ageing societies such as China, policy responses now explicitly position artificial intelligence (AI) within the future care economy, exemplified by China’s 2024 directive to integrate humanoid robots and AI into elder services by 2035 (Zou, 2025). Companion AIs— chatbots and social robots—already assist with healthcare, dementia, rehabilitation, and emotional support (Ahmed et al., 2024), and are valued for privacy, 24/7 availability, and help in managing social obligations. While some evidence shows embodied AI (robots) can reduce loneliness, other studies suggest disembodied AI (chatbots) can intensify it (Dong et al., 2025). We report on a work-in-progress scoping review to map existing literature on AI companionship amongst older Chinese adults. We investigate the roles and functions of AI companionship that address the needs of China’s aging population, their emotional experiences, and the implications of these emotional interactions for mental health, well-being, and elder care. Preliminary findings suggest that the need for emotional support is the primary driver of AI companion tools use among the elderly, with some studies finding that positive experiences with AI companion interactions help alleviate older adults’ anxiety, loneliness, and other negative emotions. We also tentatively identify a growing body of literature showing that AI companionship can elicit emotions ranging from positive experiences such as joy, safety, and fulfillment; neutral emotions such as indifference and boredom; and negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, concern, and suspicion. By consolidating insights across disciplines, this review provides a foundation for future empirical research and informs policy debates on whether and how AI companionship could complement human caregiving in China’s rapidly aging society. We argue AI companionship will reshape future “emotional economies” and care practices by redistributing emotional labour between humans and machines, but culturally and technologically mediated differences risk producing uneven futures of care.